The morning practice has come and gone, our bellies are full of the best slices in White Plains, and we're just about ready to head back to our respective learning institutions. Before we take off, though, Osborn and I would like to share what we saw from the Knicks this morning.

When the media were allowed in, the guys were immersed in an incredibly fast-paced three-man fast break drill. Each unit would start off a rebound, go end to end at full speed, then scramble back on defense while the next group assumed possession. There were plenty of alley-oops, some pretty hard falls, and one back-rimmed dunk by Anthony Randolph that would have single-handedly gotten me and Charlie tossed out of practice if it went down.

After a break, the guys ran some five-man, undefended set plays, then scrimmages began.

Take the jump for our notes on what went down!!!

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You already know what it is! This is Emcee Charlie on the ones and twos!

Today was absolutely insane. You already heard about morning practice, now you get the rest of the story. The following is the harrowing tale of Seth and my day in Tarrytown/Hawthorne/White Plains/The Knicks facility for the evening practice.

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Osborn and I are here in the media room at the MSG training facility, and we figured we'd get some notes up while we wait for AAA to come fix (and/or tow) my car. Here we go:

- The open portion of today's practice started with five-man defensive drills. The team was broken into three units and each had to scramble and communicate while coaches worked the ball around the perimeter. After that came three-man fast break drills starting with an outlet pass and ending with a quick pick-and-roll or a kick-out. Practice ended with an all-out circuit training session which was tougher than any I've seen in years past. There were a dozen or so different stations with everything from sled-pulls to cone-dribbling to squats to physio ball planks. Players rotated from station to station in groups of three, running each drill for a minute and getting only a few seconds of breathing time in between. The guys were beat, y'all. A couple of guys- Amar'e Stoudemire, Andy Rautins, Landry Fields- looked especially crisp in drills, while a few others- Eddy Curry, Ronny Turiaf, Bill Walker- were visibly struggling. Pretty much across the board, though, the whole ordeal kicked the living crap out of the entire squad. Everything ended with some stretching and media availability while Stoudemire stayed late to cop a couple hundred shirtless jumpers. 

There isn't much to be gleaned from fixed-unit, non-contact drills (scrimmages should start this evening), but take the jump for a handful of individual notes:

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"Media day" was really just an hour long. As I mentioned earlier, I spent a disproportionate chunk of that hour listening to Ronny Turiaf. According to my voice recorder thing, I spent 27 minutes and 20 seconds with Ronny. It's hard not to. The guy just spouts hilarious and insightful quips. I was transfixed. Dig:

On whether he's a starter or bench player:

I just want to play basketball, man. I'm not the type of guy that's going to be like "Aw, I can't play because I don't start or I can't play because of this". You put me on the court, I will do something good. Regardless of what the coach thinks, I'm going to be there, and I'm going to show up, and I'm going to strap up, and I'm going to do my thing.

...

It's almost funny to me. I don't care. Just put me on the court man!

...

I like to be in at the end of the game. I like to make defensive stops. I like to create a steal, I like to make an assist. I like to be in at the end of the game so I guess I'm more of a finisher than a starter.

More after the jump!

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After getting pretty gravely lost in Westchester, Osborn and myself found ourselves at the MSG training center in time for Knicks media day. Here's a quick taste of what went on:

- Ronny Turiaf is absolutely magnetic. While Osborn was up and about talking to people, I ended up spending half an hour transfixed by Turiaf riffing about a variety of topics and cajoling anyone who asked him an even remotely negative question. Alan Hahn got the best response:

We had an entertaining Q and A volley during which he scratched his shoulder, right where he has the tattoo of a lion. I asked if the lion bites.

"It might bite you," he shot back, "if you keep being negative."

I've got a whole bunch of stuff from Ronny, which I'll try and spin into a post for y'all later today.

- Osborn's comparison for Amar'e Stoudemire is Shane Falco. He's calm and confident, answers questions in a deep, almost imperceptible tone, and deals with the hard-hitting stuff like a professional. Keanu through and through.

- Eddy Curry was in the room for only a few minutes, but his presence was felt throughout the afternoon. We saw both Stoudemire and Turiaf take questions about Curry, and both referenced how dominant Curry has been in past years.

- Landry Fields confirmed that the team field trip to Yankees Stadium last night was Amar'e Stoudemire's doing. Amar'e threw out the first pitch last night and treated a bunch of the guys to a luxury suite. Landry insisted that they weren't the reason the Yankees lost.

- Up close, I'm not so sure about the new jerseys. The colors are a lot brighter, there's white trim around the numbers, and the holes are kinda strange.

- Osborn noticed that half the guys were wearing headbands and shooting sleeves and other on-court apparel. I get keeping the accessories on for the photo shoots, but sweat and muscle tightness aren't major hazards during interviews (unless they're Alan Hahn interviews). 

- Besides Stoudemire, Anthony Randolph probably got more attention from reporters than anyone. We didn't speak to him today, but we'll have plenty to report from camp this weekend.

- Two-a-days start tomorrow at 9 AM and run until Wednesday, at which point the Euro Trip begins. We'll be there for the four practices on Saturday and Sunday and will report to y'all with notes. Keep following the Twitter as well. I promise I'll update it more frequently than the ONE time I did today.